


The best teachers

by evian_pjo_OTP



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Lakes, Learning to Swim, Swimming, Swimming in lakes, Teaching how to swim
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:54:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28393452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evian_pjo_OTP/pseuds/evian_pjo_OTP
Summary: They've decided to teach other something useful. They'll learn as a couple.
Relationships: Echo/Octavian (Percy Jackson), Evian
Kudos: 2





	The best teachers

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this fanfiction was given to me by @percysbookworm, @ateni.x, @dam_pjo_stuff, @jasongrave_, @theperseus_of_thejackson, @the.score.fanboy, @fourtoomanyships, @simping_for_octavian, @piper.mclean.19, @groversflyingsneakers, @kathopk, @chrionspinochle, @jess_damfanart.66, @why_uncle_rick, @hunter._.bianca._.di._.angelo, @art_junkie_13, @dontknowhatopost, @canadianpraetorzhang, @pipes.freaking.mclean on instagram. Make sure to go follow them.

### Swimming lessons

The sound of the motor of the car was quite pleasant to hear. _It sure is a long trip compared to what I'm used to_. They had taken off the whole day for this small trip. He was excited to spend some time with Echo, and she seemed pretty excited too. It wasn't too far away, but if they wanted to have time for their plans, they had to arrive at a reasanoble hour. "I can't believe I'm finally going to learn how to swim", he said, " It's just that Romans aren't very fond on anything related to water". "Related to water" she said, pointing at herself. "Yeah, I know that you like water so much. That's why I want to learn. I'm sure you will be an awesome teacher." "Will be an awesome teacher" she said, with a smile on her lips.

When they finally arrived, there weren't much people. Octavian parked the car and they went directly to the shore of the Camanche Reservation. They had their swimsuits under their normal clothes, so they didn't have to go anywhere to change. Octavian stared in awe at Echo. She looked beautiful in that swimsuit. It was a plain red swimsuit, but it just looked like it had been made for her. It was the color of fire and the color of her hair.

She started to talk in ASL, although she still wasn't very fluent. She had started to learn only a few weeks ago. Octavian was teaching her, since he knew ASL since he was little, and it had been his idea for them to communicate better. "Get in water", she sais in ASL. He started to follow her. He started to panic when the water reached his elbows, but as a good Roman, he didn't show it. When the water reached his shoulder, they stopped walking. She handed him the life vest, and he put it with some urgency. He instantly began to float. " Move arms like bird, bend knees and move legs." He did as she said. She then said something he wished she hadn't. "Quit life saver" " What?", he asked with fear in his voice, "You can't be serious" "Be serious" "Fine..." "Fine", she said, while waiting for him to procede. He did as she said.

With his knees bent, he normally would have drowned. But by moving his arms and legs, he could float a bit. He still didn't know how to swim, but at least he could keep himself afloat. After mastering that, she taught him to paddle, so that he could at least move. Since he was a discplined Roman, he learned quickly. Finally, she decided to teach him if he was below water, how to go to the surface.

He started to feel the now familiar sensation of water against his face. He tried to paddle up, like Echo had shown him, but he blocked. All he could think about was drowning. He felt someone's hands against his armpits, trying to push him up. He instantly recovered, pushing with his legs as hard as he could so he could reach air again. Echo was breathing hardly becasue of the effort, and he wasn't in better shape either. "I think we stop", she said, " Already learned lot ". This was the third time, and he could see that she really was starting to lose her breath. " Fine... ", he sighed, in a defeated voice. "Just let me try once more. Please. I know I can do this. " "Do this", she said, in a resignated voice. "But it's last try ", she said in ASL. He proceded to dive, and then faced upwards.

Once again, he blocked. He just couldn't do it. His brain kept bringing images of people that had drowned, and that paralyzed him. When he thought it couldn't be worse, his brain showed him images of people he knew that had drowned. He had always been terrified of drowning since he saw a legionnarie drown in the Little Tiber. He didn't know her personally, she was from another cohort. But the image had stuck in his brain forever. She had accidentally fallen in the deep part of the river, and the current was just too much for her to handle. He tried to think of the good things in his life to stay positive, but his brain kept showing him the image of the legionnarie, only that this time it was Echo the one laying in the ground, lifeless. That's when he cleared his head and resurfaced.

The mere thought of Echo drowning and him not being able to do anything was enough for him to stop panicking. When he resurfaced, he noticed that Echo was about to go down for him. "Great, you did it" ,Echo said, with excitement in her face. "Yeah, I guess I did." he responded in ASL. They stared at each other in a comfortable silence until, slowly, they started kissing. While they kissed, the sun started to set into the horizon. The water reflected the sun's light. They separated to see the beautiful spectacle that was happening in the water. If someone had asked Octavian right that instant that what meant true happiness for him, he would have answered that that moment was true happiness.

"Thanks a lot for teaching me the basics. You sure are the best teacher ever" "The best teacher ever", she said, with confidence. " So, wanna have dinner? You must be starving" "Must be starving! ". And that's the story of how they ended up on a McDonald's, at 7 in the afternoon, soaked wet, and happier than ever.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I know it's been a long time, and that this isn't too good, but I've been really busy. Besides, from now on, I'll try to post every few days (no promises, though). Hope you enjoyed it!!!


End file.
